The President of Nigeria, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has said that his government will sanction the plotters of the Gabon coup until its return to democratic order.
This is coming after the leader of the Gabon coup, General Brice Olingui Nguema, was inaugurated as interim leader on Monday.
In a statement signed by the spokesperson of its Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Francisca Omayuli, Nigeria stated that military leadership only compounds the problems of the Central African country, rather than solving them.
The statement read, “The Federal Government of Nigeria has observed with concern the unfolding political developments in the Republic of Gabon, following the coup d’etat that ousted the Administration of President Ali Bongo Ondimba on August 30, 2023.
“The inauguration of the Commandant In-Chief of the Gabonese Republican Guard, Gen. Brice Olingui Nguema, as Chairman of the Ruling Committee for the Transition and Restoration of Institutions (CTRI) on Monday, September 4 2023, with no indication of a transition programme in place, only serves to fan the embers of growing discontent among the political class in the country.”
The ministry further stated that Nigeria “joins the larger international community to call for the immediate return to democratic constitutional order, which will go a long way to pacify dissident voices and restore trust and confidence to the electorate. Coups d’etat only serve to compound rather than address any perceived problems.”
It said that the Gabon coup is one coup too many in Africa, and it is unacceptable at a time when Africa is aspiring to consolidate on democracy and democratic principles for the attainment of the United Nations 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The ministry said Nigeria is committed “to partnering with other democratically elected governments in Africa to sanction plotters of unconstitutional change of government in line with the African Charter on Democracy, Elections, and Governance (ADC) until democracy is given the chance to thrive in every African country for the good of its peoples.”
In his inauguration address, Gabon’s interim president said, “This patriotic action will be a lesson learnt that will be taught in the books of our schools.”
The Gabon coup plotters made the announcement on national Television on Wednesday morning, a few moments after the Gabonese Election Centre (CGE) pronounced Bongo the winner of the polls.
The ousted Gabon President, who was declared to have won a third term bid, was placed on house arrest and was seen crying for help in a verified video making the rounds on the internet.
He said, “Ali Bongo Ondimba, president of Gabon, and I’m to send a message to all the friends that we have all over the world to tell them to make noise, to make noise for the people here who have arrested me and my family.
“My son is somewhere, my wife is in another place, and I’m at the residence. Right now, I’m in the residence, and nothing happened. Nothing is happening. I don’t know what is going on. So I am calling you, to make noise, to make noise. Make noise, really! I’m thanking you, thank you.”
Bongo was seeking a third term in office to extend his family’s power grip beyond 55 years.
The leader of the Gabon coup, Nguema, stated in an interview with the French Newspaper, Le Monde, that the people were discontent with the government of the Bongos.
“Everyone talks about this, but no one takes responsibility,” Nguema said, adding that “the army decided to turn the page.”
Gabon’s primary opposition party has expressed its gratitude to the military for resisting what it termed an “electoral coup”.
It also appealed for the Gabon coup plotters to conduct the final tabulation of votes from the recent general elections, asserting that the result would reveal opposition leader Ondo Ossa‘s triumph in the poll.